LIVERMORE FALLS – Effects of the proposed Palesky tax cap will be the main topic when town officials and SAD 36 directors meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the high school cafeteria.

The cafeteria was chosen because there is a public forum to learn more about the proposal at 7:30 p.m.

Superintendent Terry Despres plans to talk about the legal aspects of the tax-cap measure, which were explained to him and Vice Chairman Jean Tardif at recent meeting at the Elks Club in Augusta.

“Depressing” was how Tardif described it to fellow board members last week. Some pieces of the proposal are legally questionable but they will have to be challenged, she explained, a process which could take a minimum of two years.

“Once passed, it must be considered constitutional until challenged,” Despres added. “There are a lot of ifs in the initiative; it’s not going to be pretty. You will not have a school district you can function with if Palesky passes,” he said.

The measure on the Nov. 2 ballot would cap property taxes at $10 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, using 1996-97 values.

Despres said schools face a challenge in getting the word out about the effects of the tax cap because they cannot spend public money to lobby.

The district recently held a workshop to try to relieve some of the stress that staff members are feeling because of the Palesky proposal, Despres said. “It’s a nerve-wracking problem.”